“Big Daddy” Garlits’ 200 mph+ Attempt Ends in Sparks

After three respectable warmup runs of 8.770. 148.29 mph, 7.814 166.79 mph and 7.469. 174.11. mph, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat 37 started to unravel, first with a fourth run of 10.552. 80.07 mph and a smoked set of brushes, replaced for the fifth attempt, which went like this:

That, friends, is what a “fireballed comm” looks like, caught in the wild (or at least some exploding brushes) …and even in slow-motion sound we can make out the bystander’s reaction.

(Hat tip to John Metric of NEDRA for the live Facebook feed coverage throughout the day!)